Europa-Park

Europa-Park

Location Europa-Park-Straße 2
Rust, Baden-Württemberg, Germany 77977
Coordinates 48°16′06″N 7°43′15″E / 48.26833°N 7.72083°ECoordinates: 48°16′06″N 7°43′15″E / 48.26833°N 7.72083°E
Owner Mack Rides Gmbh
Opened 12 July 1975
Operating season April to early January
Area 95 ha (230 acres)
Rides
Roller coasters 12
Water rides 10
Website www.europapark.de

Europa-Park is the largest theme park in Germany and the second most popular theme park resort in Europe, following Disneyland Paris.

Europa-Park is located in Rust, in south-western Germany, between Freiburg and Strasbourg, France.

The park is home to twelve roller coasters, the oldest being the Alpenexpress Mine Train, where a powered coaster speeds through a diamond mine, – and the newest coaster being Arthur, an suspended indoor/outdoor powered rollercoaster and dark ride combination. Europa-Park has very high capacity rollercoasters and attractions meaning the park can accommodate up to approx. 50,000 guests per day. It counted just over 4.9 million visitors in 2013,[1][2] generating an estimated total revenue of EUR 300 million p.a.

It is also the location of the Euro Dance Festival.

History

Background and founding

See also: Mack Rides
The entrance to Europa-Park.

Europa-Park is run by the Mack family which have produced vehicles since 1780, circus wagons since 1880 and rollercoasters since 1921. Franz Mack (1921–2010) in 1958 took over the family firm, Mack GmbH & Co (now Mack Rides), together with his brothers. Together with his son Roland (b. 1949) he visited the USA in 1972 and was inspired to open a theme park in Germany, as an exhibition site for his company's products.

At first the park was planned to be located in Breisach. It was named "Europa-Park" after Breisach's nearby Europaweiher, a small artificial lake which commemorates a historical pilot poll in Breisach held in 1950, in which 95.6% of voters were in favour of European unification. The Breisach site was deemed unsuitable because of flooding hazard, and the project was moved some 30 km further north, where the Macks bought the park of the historical Balthasar castle in Rust.

The park opened in 1975 with an area of 16 hectares. It counted 250,000 visitors in the first year, 700,000 in the second, passing the million mark in 1978.

Themed areas and growth (1980s-2012)

Overview of the park, showing themed areas such as Griechenland.

The first country-themed section was "Italy", opened 1982. The Alpenexpress „Enzian“ and Schweizer Bobbahn rides opened in 1984 and 1985, respectively. The "Europe" theme was pursued further with the opening of "Holland" (1984), "England" (1988), "France" (1990), "Scandinavia" (1992) and "Spain" (1994) sections.

Visitor count passed the 2 million mark in 1991. The development of the hotel resort began in 1995 with El Andaluz, followed by Castillo Alcazar in 1999.

By the year 2000, the number of visitors had risen to 3 million, and the hotels had been booked to nearly 98% of their capacity. The park opened during the winter season for the first time in 2001/2. The current logo was registered in 2003.[3]

In 2011, there were 4.5 million visitors, and by 2012 the park encompassed an area of 90 hectares, featuring eleven roller-coasters, five themed hotels with a turnover of close to EUR 300 million and more than 3,000 employees. In 2012, Roland Mack announced investments in excess of EUR 60 million, the largest yearly investment in the park's history.[4] The total sum invested in the park is estimated at close to EUR 700 million.

Recent developments (2015–present)

Euromaus, the park mascot, had a 4D film based on his character in 2015.

The park will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2015. Whilst there will be no major new attractions, the park have revealed they will be releasing a new 4D film based around the park mascot, Euromaus, and his friends. It will called 'The Time Carousel'. The park are completing a range of upgrades to existing attractions, including adding a dark ride portion to Whale Adventures, a complete refurbishment of Columbus Dinghy, new travelator between the car parks and main entrance, new parade and a brand new entrance for hotel guests.

For 2016, the park is developing a new ride although no details on this have yet been revealed.

For 2017 and 2018 they have received planning approval to build a major water park, located 1 km (0.62 mi) away from the theme park, on the road between Europa-Park and the A5 Motorway. It will cost approximately €100 million.

Further hotels are also under consideration as the existing hotels run at 95% capacity. As the 5 hotels are all currently rated four star or higher, it is understood that the park may look into building a hotel with a lower star rating, perhaps near the Camp Resort, which will appeal to families and young people who are on more of a budget. Roland Mack has also stated he wishes to develop a high speed ICE rail link to make access to the resort easier.

The gourmet restaurant “Ammolite – the Lighthouse Restaurant" in the Superior Hotel Bell Rock in Europa-Park has been awarded a second Michelin star two years after opening. Thomas Mack, Member of the Executive Board of Europa-Park: "Chef de cuisine Peter Hagen has won the hearts of gourmet diners in a very short time with his great creativity and high level of discipline."

Lodging and transportation

Monorail

Die Monorail-Bahn

Among other features, in 1990 the park installed a monorail.

Europa-Park Resort

Europa-Park is home to five resort hotels. For guests on a lower budget, the resort also has a large Camp Resort, where guests can stay in a Tipi, Chuck Wagon or Log Cabin provided they bring their own sleeping bag. Camping and caravaning is also provided for, next to the Camp Resort.

Hotels
Features

Open times and events

Events
Euro Dance Festival in 2007

Euro Dance Festival, located annually at Europa-Park since 2007, is best known for its wide range of music and dancing styles. These are Ballroom Dance, Argentine Tango, Swing Dance, Hip Hop and Breakdance. A combination of dancing classes and shows and a trade fair caters for the needs of both beginners and professionals including dance instructors and choreographers. Since its foundation it has taken place for four days every year in early spring.[5]

Europa-Park host dozens of events throughout the summer season. The biggest of these include the Midsummer Party, when the theme park hosts a fireworks display and is open until midnight. Horror Nights takes place through October evenings and features a range of halloween horror mazes, rides and shows. For the last week of the main season, the park hosts a daily firework show and music production.

Times and open attractions

During the main summer season, the park opens at 9:00 am and closes from 6:00 pm. Closing time is extended by up to 3 1/2 hours, depending on how busy the park is. This is usually the case on weekends and holiday periods. The park opens selected rides 30 minutes early for hotel guests.

Europa-Park has opened for winter since 2001, and it is widely believed the park will gradually extend opening so that it is opened year round. A small number of rides, including Silver Star are closed in winter due to the weather, although from the 2012-2013 winter season, Blue Fire was added to available attractions - so long as weather permits. Wodan was also added from the 2014-2015 winter season. Such a philosophy of only operating certain rides during winter is commonplace amongst most theme parks in Europe, as temperatures can often dip below freezing. Most water rides are also closed, including Poseidon, Fjord Rafting, Tirol Log Flume and Atlantica Super Splash. The park does compensate for the loss of these rides however, with additional experiences such as the Bellevue Observation Wheel, Snow Tubing and Skiing. Show times are also extended and the park is fully decorated.

During the winter season, the park opens at 11:00 am and closes at 7:00 pm. The park opens selected rides 1 hour early for hotel guests. Although the park does extend closing time if it's busy, this doesn't happen as often in the winter seasons, partly due to low temperatures in the evening.

Themed areas

Enchanted Forest

Enchanted Forest theming.

Kingdom of the Invisibles

Children's World or Viking Land

Dino Merry-Go-Round at Children's World

Lands by country themes

Germany

Russia

Outside the Euro-Mir roller coaster in the Russia area.

Italy

France

The Silver Star at Europa-Park

Scandinavia

Portugal

The high=speed water ride Atlantica SuperSplash

Spain

The Netherlands / Holland

Switzerland

Greece

Panoramic image of Poseidon, 2003

England

Austria

Iceland

See also

References

  1. ↑ rides.nl
  2. ↑ "Global Attractions Attendance Report 2011" (PDF) (in German). TEA. 2012-05-00. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
  3. ↑ register.dpma.de
  4. ↑ news.de
  5. ↑ euro-dance-festival.com
  6. ↑ "Kernels - January 2010". Park World Magazine. 24 December 2010. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Da Vinci Flight at Europa-Park". Park World Magazine. 2 August 2011. Retrieved 8 May 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Europa-Park.